[We have updated the post with Minutes of the meeting held in regards to blocking of porn Sites. Please see at the end of the post.]

Indian Government is now determined to ban all types of pornography websites in India. They have asked various Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to create a blueprint, upgrade their infrastructure and implement a nation-wide ban on porn related websites.

As per the report by ET, they have also asked Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) for assistance.

The government has proposed a comprehensive anti-porn plan:

Step 1: Identify all pornographic websites which are currently accessible in India, especially those dealing with child pornography.

Step 3: ISPs should ensure that such large scale blocking doesn’t slow down the Internet, as it happened in the past.

In a closed door meeting in September, chaired by Telecom & IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and attended by important officials from ministry, the ‘porn problem’ was discussed in length, and strategies were formulated to implement this nation-wide ban on pornography websites.

Ravi Shankar was quoted as saying that although porn is legal in other countries, this issue should be observed in the “context of Indian culture and moral obligation towards society”.

In the month of June this year, Internet Service Providers Association of India (ISPAI) had informed the Supreme Court that they are not able to ban pornography websites, without any legal or infrastructural support from the government.

In their affidavit, they had stated, “It is impossible for an ISP to block pornographic sites without orders from the court or department of telecom (DoT). While ISPs are legally bound to comply with all orders to block pornographic or other websites as suggested by DoT, the task of identifying such websites ought not to be left to ISPs who lack institutional and logistical capacity to do the identification.”

The Supreme Court has asked the Department of Telecom to file its reply. The latest round of meetings and creation of blueprint is with regards to the same directives as issued by Supreme Court. It is expected that the Government will come out with a concrete policy governing the access of porn by the end of this month.

The main contention and reasoning behind this ban is the fear that porn promotes and encourages sexual violence against women; porn is a bad influence on young boys; and our culture and tradition is threatened.

The Political Angle

BJP, the party which has absolute powers at the center, and is considered to be close to Hindu organizations such as RSS and Bajrang Dal, has also proposed a complete ban on porn in India.

As per reports, Arvind Gupta, head of BJP’s information technology cell was also present in the meeting, and he quoted: “A solution may need to be worked out to prevent availability of pornography on the Internet considering the cultural sensitivities of the country,”

BJP is known to take a hard stand on issues which is considered ‘western’ and ‘anti-India’, and the latest diktat from the political party to the Government is being seen as an extension of this propaganda.

The Present Porn Situation In India

The rules, just like the minds of those who are seeking a ban, are complex to say the least. As per Wikipedia, “In India, watching or possessing pornographic materials is legal, although the distribution of such materials is illegal. Likewise, the publication or production of X-rated materials is illegal.”

Hence, an Indian can safely watch porn on his computer or TV, but cannot produce and publish such content. But considering that none of the 40 million+ porn websites available on the Internet has its base in India, it is becoming very tough for the Government to implement the ban.

My View

India has given birth to Kamasutra and Erotic Art as seen in temples such as Khajuraho and Ajanta-Ellora. Do we really believe that our culture and tradition didn’t had an element of sex in them?

How did we collectively produce 1.2 billion people?

Are we so scared of pornographic websites that we need to ban them?

Does viewing porn encourages a person to rape or makes him understand this basic human necessity in a better way?

There are lots of questions and very few answers. But unfortunately, the Indian Government is not concerned with these questions, and instead, is trying to ban something which they are not able to understand.

Porn, is not the problem, it’s the mindset which needs a change.

Do share your views about banning of porn in India: Is the Government right in deciding what we should access on the Internet and what we shouldn’t? Do share your views by commenting right here!

Update:

Here is the link to Minutes of the Cyber Regulation Advisory Committee meeting that happened on 5th of September]

Mohul keenly observes the nuances of Indian startup world; and tries to demystify the secrets behind Technology, Marketing, Mobile and Internet. He is a Writer by passion, Marketer by choice and Entrepreneur by compulsion. Follow him on Twitter here: @_mohul

After doing this act, people will watch more porn. Government will never be able to implement a complete ban ! Also, youth will be more eager to watch porn due to the ban.
Banning porn will never help to prevent cosequences of it acorrding to what government is thinking.
Instead there should be proper sex education in india which will help teenagers understand physical and emotional changes theh are undergoing

In my view, If they want to ban porn then they have to many more things such as.

Item songs (I dont remember but someone said this item song encourage man )
youtube (many mms and porn are on youtube also)
All porn star account on Facebook (sunny leone etc )
All porn star account on twitter
Redlight area (Everyone knows where we can get prostitute only police and government dont know about the same ) Lols

Leave all this what about Poonam Pandey, Rakhi sawant and many other girl who do just for publicity (Any action on them )

most indian porn sites post videos of indian girls who are victimised by some ba***ds …who post these videos there should be absolute zero tolerance on such things…very gud move by bjp if ppl who feel porn as indian culture and oppose this move i would say post ur own wife or sis video …..as u think it isnt wrong…..

whoever idiot has idea of promoting porn,first do proper study about it.
London based rescue organization has done a study last year on single city hyderabad,where per day 88,000 rape videos are seen on avg in city. The age group starts from 9 years..morale policing is important for 9 years child…

58% of them reported,they want to attempt rape in real life..is it not increasing violence on women? Sex education is different,sex abuse is different..11years child has raped 6 years child…pros and cons to 11 years child, and does he hve maturity to choose..

A construction worker has raped 70 yrs old lady…who will teach,who will listen..you will understand only when your daughter is sufferer…

Government has responsibilty to safeguard society in total…for your entertainment…it cant risk such amount of growing crime…

I read ur comment madam bt I am surprised u dnt knw the benefits of watching porn…. 80% men of india satisfy themselves through masturbation which they do while watching porn…if porn movies are banned rape will increase …so its better guys enjoy atleast by their hands.

I think whatever you have said in favour of porn is your personal mind decision. But actually Porn is injurious to physical and mental health. .Those who watch porn later become addicted to it like smoking, drugs, alcohol etc.You say that Porn does not leads a person to rape someone but it’s the mindset.But the question is what create mind ..whatever we see, hear , do..all gets stored in our mind like a photo taken by Camera.Nowadays , Young boys and girls are exposed to porn before the age of 15.Young minds are very sensitive ..and if they get exposed to porn at younger age , their will be ruined because they have no mindset like adults as you have said.So, Porn sites must be totally banned in India is a land of spiritual ity.Future of India depends on Children as they are the future of the nation.

I agree completely on govt initiative to ban on porn sites on net. In todays time we are allowing our kinds to be more friendly with internet but can’t watch 24 hours about the sites they r visiting.
Once its(porn sites) are banned than at least our kinds are safe from premature watching of adults videos.

While those are supporting it for sake of their choice and needs , i think in our country we are left with many other options instead of just watching it through net.

All u above In Favour of not Banning the Porn sites, but i’m not. If we are making pornography legal then we should make prostitution, sex working, sex acting profession also must be legal because someone need too produce the pornographic material. If in future, your wife/daughter/sister getting a vacancy on porn company then u should promote them to do so, as it is a good profession u make other people feeling good & happy its a noble profession & great pay also Rs 15,000 .

@Dhirendra – I’m completely in favour of making prostitution, sex working and sex acting also legal. Because then we will be forced to enforce rules for their welfare. Sex workers are also human beings trying to live their life in the best way they see fit. By making it legal, we will also stop the dreadful practice of human trafficking since there is no more need to force them illegally into the profession.

I stand by my earlier words. Education doesn’t come from the government. I don’t expect my neighbour to teach my wife/daughter/sister/son/brother on the pros and cons of the porn industry or on prostitution, so why should I expect the government to know better? The government is run by humans. Education begins with the family, the parents and the near and dear ones. I take responsibility for the welfare of my kids/spouse/siblings. If my kids or siblings decide to go into porn industry, it is my duty to explain the pros and cons of the industry, HIV, community perception (how others in society will look at you and treat you) and anything else related to it. After that, it is their decision. And if my kids or siblings make an informed decision to go into porn industry, they will find in me their staunchest ally. This is no different from them wanting to become a doctor/engineer. I will still try to explain about the pros and cons of the profession and allow them to make their own choice.

Prostitution is not unethical. Forcing people into prostitution is! As is forcing people to become engineers/doctors. But if I want to earn money in exchange for sex, I think that’s my choice and nobody else’s.

I really dont think that a porn websites should be banned….as it is an alternate way to save rape cases. It is ones choice…and personal opinion wether to watch it or no…govt cannot put ban on every thing. I am against the ban.

If you don’t like porn, don’t watch. But there is no point that you should ban adult people to watching it. We are not slave to anyone and we are not doing any harm to anyone through watching porn. It’s your individual decision to watch or not watch.

We all know porn cannot be banned in toto, till the human beings are there, it will be in existence.. but we can take measures to keep it away from minors… adults should be allowed to watch it or they will watch it at their own, there are so many technologies .. and also, banning the porn on internet will heat the CD market once against as it was in late 90s…… So it will be always there at demand…… ISPs will never agree to stop 50% traffic of web which is through porn..

Again, we are doing moral policing on citizens of India for no reason. Where is the evidence that porn causes violence against women? I am 30 years old, married, working at a large company and a responsible citizen. I take care of my family, donate to charity, participate in functions. I am also a feminist, I stand up for women’s equality so that women can choose what they want to do and don’t have to be afraid to speak up. And I set this example at home – my wife is independent and I trust her judgement. And I watch porn. My wife knows I watch porn and it doesn’t bother her. My sexual fantasies are not the government’s business and I don’t have to justify it for anyone. And I don’t commit violent acts against women. I pay my taxes and am a responsible member of society.

What is wrong is constantly putting “Indian Values” on a pedestal and pretending that we are better than all the other countries because we treat sex as a taboo. Community values are enforced by society and people, not a higher power. There is no reason why I should stop watching porn because YOU think it is wrong. If tomorrow, YOU decide that higher education is wrong, why should I agree with you? Because YOU are the government? Give me a logical argument my dear fellow. I am not so closed minded that I will refuse to hear you out. Give me evidence backed by data and convince me that porn causes violence against women and I will be your strongest supporter. But please don’t tell me that it is against our “Indian values” and we should abide by them just because YOU have an internal moral compass.

Porn is a legitimate business that has come up because of a human need. To deny it is to lie to oneself. I wholly agree with the author – porn is not the problem, people’s mindset is the problem.

If you ban porn, where will be the source for Masturbation? People will satisy there sexual desire by watching Porn and if you people ban it, then they going to get lot of pressure to do Sex instead of watching porn. By the way who doesn’t like to watch Porn? You? If you don’t like it, you are not a human at all!! Inside everyone loves Porn, including indian Woman watch Porn! Even if you ban it, there’s always a way to access it! So don’t show off to the world!

Your ques 1. : How did we collectively produce 1.2 billion people? Ans: Not by watching other people having sex i.e. porn. Sex between husband and wife and producing children is not same as watching other peoples doing thact act. You should very well know the difference.
Ques 2. Are we so scared of pornographic websites that we need to ban them? Yes, we are concerned about our naive youngsters which are the future of this country and culture called Bharat Mata.
Ques. 3. Does viewing porn encourages a person to rape or makes him understand this basic human necessity in a better way? Ans: How come viewing porn is basic necessity? Sex is basic and for that there is a certain age and limit. Otherwise we are no different than animals.
There are answers to all of your questions. But unfortunately, you guys are following west blindly. Indian Government is not concerned with these questions, and you don’t want to follow answers and are least bothered about understanding the same.